UK Vinylmation Spotting!

Today, Saturday 7th January is a day that the #SaveUKVinylmation group are trying to discover the state of UK Vinylmation. Several UK Vinylmation collectors are visiting their local Disney Stores that stock Vinylmation to see just what is going on. Check out their progress below.

At 11am this morning, Caroline Gray had a great surprise to find that the Oxford Street store had put out their Furry Friends Vinylmation early

But, when she moved on to the Shepherd’s Bush store an hour later she had this to report:

“Westfield shepherd bush has 5.99 taxi and bus, villans 1 at 5.59 and u6 and HAL at normal price. Store manager had no info on furry friends and couldn’t find any new sets on his list.”

We had been told yesterday that ALL London stores would be receiving Furry Friends so very strange to see that the manager at this store knows nothing about it. Is there a reason as to why they don’t know about new lines in their store whether they are stocking or not?

2pm

Kez Francis made a trip in to London and specifically to the Covent Garden Store. This is what she found:

“Hi guys just popped into covent garden store they had 2 trays by the till including furry friends which only arrived this morning and the cm said they are almost sold out! have got 2 and a taxi! when u asked for them people around started asking the cms what they were and both cms were collectors and very knowledgable!”

Good to hear that Cast Members are knowledgeable on the products in the stores people went to today. Around the same time, Caroline Gray headed back to the Oxford Street store to see what was now going on. She took this photo

She also commented:

“Just left oxford street. They have a couple of uk flags, loads of 5.99 bus and taxi and a box of furry friends”

Yesterday, when enquiring in the Oxford Street store a guest was told that the store did not have room for the Vinylmation because of the current sale. Suddenly, once they have sold a large amount of Vinylmation they can fill the space with the stock they wouldn’t put out before. If Vinylmations aren’t out for guests to pick up, how can they sell them. They are a unique item that guests enquire about when they see them. Almost a impulse buy for many unless you are a collector.

Meanwhile, in Manchester………

Joe Worthington found some Have a Laugh Vinylmation on sale in the Machester Arndale Store. When he asked about Furry Friends:

“They told me their ‘Furry Friends’ arrived this morning, but they were waiting till Monday to put them out.”

There seems to be an inconsistency in policy at the Disney Store. Some stores have seen the profit possibility by placing the new stock on sale on a busy Saturday while others have held off until Monday clearly missing out on potential sales.

Also in Manchester but at the Trafford Centre, Stephen Green took a visit and was told:

“Called at Trafford Centre store for Maleficent pins. They have 15 HAL boxes and confirmed they will be selling Furry Friends on Monday.”

Moving north of the border and we head to the Glasgow store for Vinylmation and Susan McKay was told:

“I was in the Glasgow store and they confirmed that Furry Friends will be going in February but no date yet. Also said that the Vinylmations in the UK are still classed as trial phase so feedback from Disney fans to Disney will help push along getting them in for good. They only had about 10 Urban 5 in stock as well though loads in the trade box although seems to be mainly Urbans”

UPDATE

We have had an photo sent through to us from Mickeyupdates.com. They visited the Covent Garden store this evening and this is what they found on display

Good to see them in a prominent position in store. There seems to be an open Vinyl next to the Have a Laugh box. Not sure if this is a display or one a guest has opened. Usually, they don’t display them like this in store so it may have been a guest trying to be helpful.

Alan Hooper from Your Mousecast has just sent us two photos from the Metro Centre store in Gateshead.

Looking back at today’s photos there seems to be a running theme. No one seems to know what they are supposed to do with Vinylmation. Some have it on the front counter, others with the Multimedia and two stores believe they should be with the toys and sweets. It would be interesting to hear if Disney have given any guidance on what type of product they are. The Disney Store website classes them under the pin category. I’m pretty sure that a person coming in to buy a Pez dispenser is always going to pick up a Vinylmation. Should there not be a specific display? Something prominent. Many new product in supermarkets get a cardboard marketing unit as do many new DVD and Blu-ray releases. Could this not be done for Vinylmation?

UPDATE
Today (Sunday) Iain Thompson visited the the Bluewater store and found two boxes of Furry Friends quite clearly on display

It seems then that Disney still have not quite got Vinylmation through to its stores. Some will release early because they know their target market. Some are holding off from release until a quieter, more specific date. Others don’t seem to have any idea that they are actually getting the stock in when we know they are and others seem to think it’s February!

Disney having been selling Vinylmation in the UK for over a year now. I’m not sure how long a trial is supposed to last but I reckon over a year is more than a trial. Now, please don’t get us wrong. This is not a hate campaign against Disney, the Disney Store or its Cast Members. This is simply a campaign to make people aware of Vinylmation, make Disney aware of the need for it and highlight the need for more transparency in the promotion in and out of store for Vinylmation. Furry Friends was announced in a small bubble on an email sent out on Thursday, the Customer Care centre didn’t know when they were coming out and two days later they appear in store with no news. All we ask is that Disney take heed of the enthusiasm from fans for this product and acknowledge that yes, we actually want to give you money!

Our final point before we leave it is this. The Disney Store may think that there isn’t a market for Vinylmation in this country. The truth is they couldn’t be more wrong. At the moment, UK collectors have to turn to the US for their VInyls. Not only do we have to pay the prices the US offer (or should I say US traders are selling for) but we also have to pay for them to be shipped and customs fees to be paid. It means that rather than a Vinylmation costing £8.00 it costs much closer to £15-£20. Collectors are likely to spend more on Vinylmation if they are available in this country on a regular, transparent basis. The money spent on shipping fees will instead be spent on more Vinylmation!

Please #SaveUKVinylmation